Mother Merey and the Black Dirt Beat the Devil on “Front Porch”

Photo courtesy of Mother Merey and the Black Dirt

Austin’s experiencing something of a revival of bluesy country music at the moment, with aspiring juke joints dotting the city’s hipper neighborhoods. Mother Merey and the Black Dirt are new entrants to that scene out to make a big impression with the lead single to their debut album, “Front Porch.” The song is heavy on repeated refrains and built around a simple motif — something that songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Allen says is a tribute to the song’s old-time roots. “All the old folk and blues songs only needed one riff,” he explains. “If you find another riff, you write another song.”

One riff is enough, when there’s a voice like lead vocalist Merey Kimbrough’s singing over a slide resonator guitar and a stomping drum beat about whiskey, collard greens, black coffee, boots, drinking on porches and trying to beat the devil. It may sound like a revival, but those things never really go out of style.

Mother Merey and the Black Dirt’s debut album, Down to the River, is due out this Spring. Stream “Front Porch” below: 

Mother Merey and the Black Dirt - Front Porch
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